Katy Curd (Great Britain) races downhill at the Worlds in Fort William (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
No Fuss Events launched a new kind of extreme downhill mountain bike endurance race in the United Kingdom on Thursday. Staged on a track in the Nevis Range near Fort William, Scotland, where the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were held, racers will tackle one of the longest and most physically demanding downhill races on the international circuit on Sunday, September 7.
After a Le Mans style mass start, downhill bikes will be collected and ridden up to a starting point about three-quarters of the way down from the top. A gondola will take riders back to the top repeatedly so they ride the 2.82km track down from Aonach Mor, the ninth highest mountain in the United Kingdom, as many times as possible in six hours. Each descent will be timed with the cumulative descent times determining the winner in case of a tie with the total number of descents ridden.
"The Fort William Downhill Endurance is a new and totally unique event to the UK and it has already captured the imagination of some of the key players in the downhill community," said Frazer Coupland from No Fuss Events. "It will be a fresh, new and different event, whilst challenging enough to be completely in keeping with the gnarly hardcore scene normally associated with downhill riders.
The race will be a test not only of downhill skills, but also endurance and reliability. Participants are allowed only one bike and a list of itemised spares for the duration of the event. Repairs, feeding and rest breaks will be permitted at the end of each run as needed. Riders who do have to swap out wheels, forks, bars or frames will be given a time penalty and technical assistance can only be received within the designated tech area.
The race is part of a gruelling series of open endurance events including the Three Tens Series and Relentless 24 (cross country) and The Big Ben Nevis (triathlon). For more information, visit www.nofussevents.co.uk.
May 31: 10 Under the Ben, Fort William (cross country) July 12: 10 at Kirroughtree, Newton Stewart (cross country) July 19: Glen Nevis River Race, Fort William (boating) August 23: 10 More in Moray, Fochabers (cross country) September 7: The Fort William Downhill Endurance (downhill) September 20: The Big Ben Nevis Triathlon, Fort William (triathlon) September 27: Glen Hike and Bike Fort William (hiking & biking) October 11: Relentless 24 (cross country)
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